Contrary to popular belief, silencers are and always have been legal to own under federal law. There are, however, 16 states, plus the District of Columbia that prohibit the civilian ownership of silencers. At this time, the following states allow private ownership of silencers: AL, AR, AK, AZ, CO, CT, FL, GA, ID, IN, KY, LA, ME, MD, MS, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, and WY. Of the fifteen states that do not allow civilian ownership, CA, IA, KS, MA, MO, and MI allow Class 3 dealers and Class two manufacturers to possess silencers.

Silencers, like machine-guns, are proscribed under the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934, and are regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. The procedure for owning a silencer may seem daunting at first, but actually requires less paperwork than buying an automobile.

To legally purchase a silencer or any item falling under the purview of the NFA, you must be at least 21 years of age, a resident of the United States, and have no felony record. The first step is to locate a Class 3 dealer in your state who either has or will order the item you are interested in. Once a product and price have been settled on, the Class 3 dealer will provide the prospective purchaser with duplicate ATF Form 4’s and two sets of fingerprint cards. The Form 4’s must be filled out on both sides, with passport photos of the prospective buyer affixed to the backside of the form. The buyer then has the Chief Law-Enforcement officer* sign the rear of the Form 4’s attesting the prospective purchaser does not possess a criminal record and is not wanted. The two fingerprint cards must be completed and signed by a Law Enforcement agency. The completed paperwork is then sent to the Department of the Treasury with a check or money order for $200.00. The $200.00 is known as a “transfer tax” because as it must be paid whenever ownership of the silencer is “transferred” (in this case, the dealer to the prospective purchaser). As long as ownership remains with the same person, the tax need not be paid again. Only if the owner sells it will a new transfer tax need to be paid. An owner may will his silencer to a lawful heir with no tax incurred.

Once the paper work is submitted, it normally takes 60 to 120 days to receive the approved, stamped paperwork from NFA Branch. It is only upon the return of the approved paperwork that the dealer can allow the prospective purchaser to take possession of their new silencer. A copy of the approved paperwork must accompany the silencer at all times (the original should be stored in a safe deposit box). Silencers can be transported to other states that allow their ownership, but to transport a silencer into one of the sixteen states which prohibit private ownership can subject the owner to serious state felony charges.

*The following is a list of typically encountered Chief Law Enforcement Officers (CLEO):

Sheriff

Chief of Police

Head of State Police Agency

District Attorney

A judge with the power of arrest

Any other law enforcement officer approved for this procedure by the National Firearms Act branch of the BATF.

My flamethrower has two main parts, a gun/hose assembly, and the tank. I made the gun first:

It’s made entirely of parts you can get at your average hardware store. The hose connects to a stop valve, which connects to a short pipe nipple that’s tapped directly into the tank.

The tank took a while to make, because I let each set of chemical welds dry before doing the next ones. The ends of the tank are two 90 deg. elbows and two 90 deg. street elbows, welded to make two full 180 deg. “U”s. One side of the tank is a 2′ length of 4″ sch.40 PVC, the other is a 4″x4″x1.5” T with standard pipe attached to each 4” socket.

Before assembling the parts, I drilled and threaded the two holes I needed in the tank ends: a 1/4″ standard pipe hole for the outlet to the hose, and a 1/8″ standard pipe hole for the valve that I would use to pressurize the tank. Interesting note: 1/4″ and 1/8″ pipes have no actual relation to the measurements of distance commonly known as the quarter inch and eighth inch. The holes are actually 7/16″ and 11/32″ respectively. Hooray for non-metric measurements.

Next step: cement one end of the tank:

Then the other:

After the tank dried, I dredged up an old camping backpack to hold it. I cut a hole in the bottom of the pack and screwed the gun/hose assembly into the base of the tank.

Finally, I screwed in the Schrader valve (which I bought from http://www.spudtech.com, an excellent online retailer for PVC weapons and parts) to complete the tank:

Now the whole rig was ready for some pressure testing. Since I would soon be running the distinct risk of giving myself heat-assisted, deep tissue exfoliation, I was extra-careful to make sure there weren’t any leaks. I used up a lot of Teflon tape.

And, after filling the tank with water for a trial run, made sure the cleanout cap was on nice and tight

before flipping on the air compressor.

No leaks! At this point, I had quite possibly the world’s most kick-ass super-soaker.

Of course, I didn’t go through all that effort for a damn squirt gun. So I added a pilot light in the form of a blow torch.

Much better! The finished product:

There was only one thing left. Add some fuel (denatured alcohol; PVC is soluble in gasoline)

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A license is required to possess, import, or sell firearms. Each license issued shall specify the number, quantity, and description of the arms which may be possessed, imported, or sold, or otherwise transferred. A license to possess must be renewed every year and must be in the licensee’s possession when carrying such arms.

An eligibility certificate or pistol permit is required to purchase a handgun. Both documents are valid for 5 years, allow unlimited purchases, and will waive the long gun waiting period. Carrying a handgun also requires a pistol permit, with a 60-day permit issued by a local official required as a prerequisite to receiving the 5-year permit issued by the Connecticut State Police (CSP).

A permit to acquire, valid for 10 days, is required for every purchase of a handgun. A permit to acquire, valid for 1 year, is required for unlimited purchases of long guns. A license is needed to carry a handgun. Certain aliens may obtain a permit to acquire or use a firearm.

Illinois requires residents to possess a valid FOID card to purchase firearms or ammunition. The card is valid for 5 years, with no limit on the number of firearms purchased. State law does not provide for concealed firearm permits.

Iowa requires an annually renewed permit to acquire pistols or revolvers, unless the purchaser holds a valid permit to carry firearms. An unlimited number of handguns can be purchased with either permit.

Maine does not require a permit to purchase firearms. A permit is required to carry a concealed weapon. An offender whose rights have been restored may be issued a possession permit but cannot carry a concealedfirearm.

Minnesota allows its citizens to obtain a transferee permit which is valid for 1 year and can be used to purchase an unlimited number of handguns and assault weapons. A permit to carry is required to possess a concealed firearm and also constitutes a transferee permit. In the alternative, a buyer can undergo a background check for each purchase of an unlimited number of handguns or assault weapons.

State law mandates a permit to purchase a handgun, which is valid for 90 days and may be renewed for an additional 90 days. A firearms purchaser identification card, which is valid until revoked for a violation of law, is require for unlimited long gun purchases. A permit is required to carry a handgun. A license issued by the superior court is required to purchase or possess an assault weapon.

Each handgun purchased requires a license, issued by a designated county or city judicial or law enforcement officer, which specifies conditions for possession and carrying. A license is valid throughout the State, except in New York City, where additional rules of validity apply. Licenses are valid until revoked but have a fixed duration in New York City (3 years) and in Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties (5 years). Purchasing additional handguns requires a license amendment.

North Carolina requires a permit, valid for 5 years, to purchase a handgun. A separate permit is required to carry a concealed handgun. A person who may possess a machine gun is required to obtain a permit from the county sheriff.

A permit is not required to purchase firearms. Ohio law does not provide for concealed firearm permits. A person who is qualified to acquire, possess, carry, or use any automatic or sawed-off firearm or zip-gun must apply to the sheriff of a county or safety director or police chief of a municipality for a license or temporary permit.

Rhode Island does not require a permit to purchase firearms. A permit is required to carry a concealed handgun. A person under 18 years of age must have a permit to participate in legal firearm activities.

No permit is required to purchase firearms. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) issues concealed handgun permits and special licenses required for possession, transportation or sale of machine guns.

A permit is not required to purchase a firearm. A permit is required to carry a concealed handgun. An application (see below) is required to purchase a pistol if the purchaser does not have a permit to carry a concealed handgun.

A license is required to possess, transport, or carry a firearm. A purchase coupon is issued to a license applicant when the application is approved. The weapon purchased is brought in to the firearms unit of the Virgin Islands Police Department. Information about the weapon is recorded and listed on the license issued to the applicant.